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Six people were killed in Alabama as tornadoes rocked the state on Thursday, destroying homes and creating “serious damage,” according to the mayor of Selma. According to county Emergency Management Agency Director Ernie Baggett, the deaths occurred in Autauga County, northwest of Montgomery.
He stated that a tornado affected the towns of Old Kingston and Marbury, with a possible course of roughly 20 miles. “At this point, we know roughly 40 to 50 homes are either severely damaged or destroyed,” Baggett said.
At a news conference in Selma, Mayor James Perkins Jr. stated that the city was assessing the extent of the damage and that no fatalities had been confirmed as of Thursday afternoon. He requested that residents share images of any damage they see in and around Selma.
“We have received numerous terrible damage reports,” said the National Weather Service in Birmingham in a statement. Storm surveys to confirm the tornadoes might take days, according to the report. According to a city Facebook post, most routes in Selma are closed due to downed power lines and trees. Selma officials imposed a curfew from sunset to dawn, telling residents that the exposed electrical lines posed a risk.
“All schools have stated that their pupils are present and safe. It is not safe to go to schools or allow children to leave them at this time “According to officials. As of 7:30 p.m., approximately 10,000 homes and businesses in Selma remained without electricity, including the majority of the city center, according to Perkins. He stated that crews were on their way to ensure that mobile service did not go down in the city.
With no power, Selma’s city council met outside, with audio recorded on a cell phone and a webcast on Facebook. Due to substantial damage to their homes, some members were unable to attend. The organization set aside $2 million from its budget surplus for the calamity.
People sent photographs and videos of destruction in Selma, some of which showed entire blocks where multiple buildings appeared to have been leveled. One Facebook user posted over a dozen photographs of crushed homes, toppled trees across highways, and even a car that appeared to have been shattered by a downed power line.
From their vantage point on Interstate 65, a Twitter user captured video of what appeared to be a funnel cloud touching down. Thunderstorms have grounded flights at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday.
The halt was lifted, but the FAA recorded a 26-minute average delay for flights departing from Atlanta. According to an airport official, the issue is being monitored and has had no impact on Hartsfield-Jackson. A storm destroyed multiple buildings in Morgan County, according to the sheriff’s office.
Approximately ten people were harmed, although none appear to be seriously injured. Decatur, in Morgan County, saw several overturned trucks and downed trees. According to police, there were minor injuries. According to the meteorological service, 42 tornadoes were reported Thursday, largely in Alabama but also in Georgia and Kentucky.
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Storm surveys are required to determine whether they were tornadoes and how many there were. Major damage has been recorded in Alabama’s Hale, Bibb, Sumter, and Autauga counties. The sheriff’s office in Spalding County, Georgia, reported “huge numbers of trees” fallen, blocking roads and bringing down power lines. Griffin, which is in the county, was damaged and inhabitants were advised to stay at home.
According to a video from NBC station WXIA of Atlanta, one automobile was destroyed and turned on its side in a Walmart parking lot in Griffin, and another was lifted and wound up partially on top of another vehicle. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey expressed sadness after learning that six people had died in her state.
“My thoughts and prayers are with their families and communities. We are all too familiar with catastrophic weather, but our people are strong. We’ll get through it and come out stronger for it “She used Twitter. On Thursday, Ivey declared a state of emergency in six counties: Autauga, Chambers, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore, and Tallapoosa.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced a state of emergency and directed agencies to “act with all hands on deck” to affected communities. According to the meteorological service, over 4 million people were under tornado watches Thursday evening, but they were eventually canceled. Wind advisories were issued to 17 million people Wednesday night, and Atlanta could witness gusts of up to 40 mph.
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